Yvon Chouinard and his family have given up their ownership of the company and pledged to fight climate change.
The owner of the Patagonia store poses for a picture.
All of the company's nonvoting shares are now owned by a new organization called the Holdfast Collective, which will use every dollar not reinvested into the company to support nature and biodiversity.
The voting shares of the company are now owned by the Patagonia Purpose Trust, which the company says will show that capitalism can work for the planet.
The Holdfast Collective hasn't specified how it will use the money, but the company projects it could pay out an annual dividend of about $100 million.
In an open letter he wrote that he considered selling the company and donating the proceeds, but he decided to keep the company's workers employed and maintain its values.
The company said the Chouinard family will remain on the board.
A cocktail party was held in New York City.
According to the New York Times, which first reported the news, a new form of capitalism that doesn't end up with a few rich people and a bunch of poor people will hopefully be influenced by this. The maximum amount of money will be given to people who are saving the planet.
Before he relinquished control of the company, we estimated that he was worth over a billion dollars. He isn't a billionaire anymore.
He told the New York Times that the decision to give up the company was partly set in motion by Forbes listing Chouinard as a billionaire. He didn't have $1 billion in the bank and doesn't "drive Lexuses." The cash in his bank account was not taken into account when Forbes included him in its lists.
For years, Chouinard's company has given 1% of sales to grassroots activists. The company said it saved money after Donald Trump lowered the corporate tax rate. In order to discourage customers from buying its products, the company ran an ad in the New York Times asking customers to reuse or repair items they already own.
The founder of the company gave away the company.
The story of how Yvon Chouinard built his own empire.
The billionaire founder of the company gave away millions of dollars after the tax cuts were enacted.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
